Many types of materials have pores and porous morphologies. Such materials can be inorganic, organic-inorganic, and organic, and combinations and variations of these. Recently, much attention has been directed toward controlling the properties of these materials through affecting the nature of their porous structures, including, among other things, the nature of the pore surfaces. In spite of these efforts, the solutions that have been developed are largely limited in scope and applicable only to a specific or narrow type of material.
For example, much attention has been focused on the use of porous carbonaceous materials, such as biochars, in conjunction with controlling and regulating the growth of plants and vegetation, e.g., crops. Although such uses of biochar have generally been known for a considerable amount of time, their commercial and widespread adoption has not occurred. It is believed there are several reasons for these failures.
Porous carbonaceous materials, and in particular biochar, come from many varied and different sources. As a result, biochars have very inconsistent and unpredictable properties. These inconsistencies and lack of predictability make their use difficult and in many cases problematic. Jeffery et al. in Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment (2011) (“Jeffery”) recently compiled the results from several biochar field trials from around the globe. The trials show at best a modest improvement with biochar applications and the application rates required to achieve these modest results is significant. (See Jeffery, at page 175 and FIG. 1) In Lehmann, et al, Biochar for Environmental Management (2006) (“Lehmann”) Lehmann, a pioneer researcher, is quoted about biochar, “ . . . but variability is high and it is not yet clear under what soil and climatic conditions high or low yields can be expected.” (Lehmann, Chp. 12, at page 207) It is believed that these inconsistencies and lackluster outcomes are common among biochar work. It is indicative that one ordinarily skilled in the art does not produce a biochar with predictable properties and outcomes. Thus, the use of these materials, e.g., biochar, can have limited, sporadic or little to no beneficial effect and may be problematic and detrimental, e.g., lower crop yield, and in some situations death of the crops.
Similarly, these porous carbonaceous materials, e.g., biochar, can be made by many varied and different processes and conditions for those processes, which in turn result in materials that have very inconsistent and again unpredictable properties. These processes and processing related inconsistencies are in addition to, and typically compound, the problems arising from the material's source. Because of these inconsistencies and unpredictabilities, the substantial potential and anticipated benefits from using biochar and other carbonaceous porous materials, has not been realized. As a result, biochar has at most been a scientific curiosity, not found wide spread use, not found large scale commercial applications, and at most been relegated to small niche applications. Thus, prior to the present inventions, it is believed that methods and systems to produce a biochar for applications with predictable, controllable, and beneficial results had not been obtained.
In general, the art has focused on the failings, and problems, of biochars by attempting to refine the process to make the biochar, or the selection of starting material from which a particular biochar is made. Typically, these attempts were done with the hope that increased process control, material selection and refinements would overcome the unpredictabilities, inconsistencies, and harmful effects found with existing biochars. It is believed that these attempts have been to a lesser or greater extent failures. It is believed that to date, and prior to the present inventions, there has not existed a widely available biochar having predictable properties; nor, prior to the present inventions, has there existed a process for making such biochars.
The present inventions go against the teachings and direction of the art. Rather than focus on the manner in which a particular biochar is made, or selecting a particular starting material for a biochar, embodiments of the present inventions directly address the long-standing and unsolved problems with biochars' lack of consistency and predictability.